Penn State's McSorley, defense take another step at Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. — No matter that Penn State's Heisman Trophy frontrunner had nine yards of total offense deep into the third quarter.

Penn State's one-two punch of defense and Trace McSorley were far too much for the Wildcats to handle.

While Northwestern loaded up to stop Barkley every time he touched the ball, the Nittany Lions simply threw with abandon against a shoddy secondary and a wicked wind.

But, once again, the story of the day was this growing defense. The Wildcats never could get any traction against a unit swarming in waves more effectively by the week.

Now, for the three things we learned from Penn State's 31-7 victory Saturday at Ryan Field ...

McSorley's development hits new heights

The running game wasn't there. The deep passing game really wasn't, either, considering the gusty winds and questionable blocking up front.

So McSorley was perfectly patient and precise connecting on one short to mid-range pass after another. At one point he completed 15-straight passes to nine different receivers.

He took what the defense gave him, mixing in some hard running, to gradually wear down Northwestern.

When it mattered most, McSorley was 25-of-34 throwing for 245 yards and no interceptions.

He even ran in the final score from 5 yards out.

Defense grows more heading into toughest stretch

This group doesn't feature national, impact stars like so many years in the past. Safety Marcus Allen is the closest thing.

But as a group they are playing more effectively than in recent memory, especially considering much of their best talent is their youngest.

It came into Saturday's game leading the Big Ten in turnover margin and in giving up only 9.4 points per game.

The Lions continually harassed Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson early, pitching the first-half shutout and picking up three more turnovers.

The young defensive ends are of particular note, as redshirt freshmen Shaka Toney and Shane Simmons produced big-time plays throughout. The Wildcats couldn't handle Toney's speed rushing on the outside as he sacked Thorson twice, causing a fumble.

Sophomore end Ryan Buchholz played perhaps his strongest game with relentless rush pressure. Junior Amani Oruwariye continues to flash pro potential at cornerback with close coverage and picking up his third interception.

As the game wore on, the defense's stranglehold only became tighter. Standout tailback Justin Jackson earned nothing on the ground after a promising start.

Offensive line offers biggest questions

Even when the Lions owned all the momentum on offense, winds at their backs, they couldn't capitalize as they should in the third quarter.

And that's because of their continued offensive line issues.

Most glaring is at right tackle, where they keep rotating junior Chasz Wright and freshman Will Fries. Despite his fine numbers, McSorley was under constant pressure and was sacked four times.

Halfway through the season there should be better answers, especially considering most all of these guys played big roles last year.

Even Barkley's jailbreak touchdown run late in the third quarter was helped by well-placed official as an unintended screen and Barkley's mystique cutting and acceleration abilities.

The line has a very important bye week ahead to get things fixed before the toughest stretch of their schedule begins.